CALLING FOR MORE PROFESSIONALISM

THE HARTFORD COURANT

Along with an extra bill to pay, East Hartford police are giving residents a distressing message by asking to be compensated for carrying beepers. The law enforcement pledge "to preserve and protect" has been changed to "let's get ours."

Under the new police union contract, officers who carry beepers are being paid $1,500 annually. That will cost $79,500 -- about equal to a patrol officer's salary and benefits. Hiring another officer would be a better use of the money.

This deal is better for the town than the previous contract, which gave police several hours of compensatory time per month for the beeper burden. That meant key personnel had to be replaced with expensive overtime workers.

Added responsibility goes with promotions and better-paying positions. In East Hartford, only officers who have jobs requiring special expertise, such as the accident reconstruction team, carry beepers. So it's not surprising that they may be called in emergencies. Their occupations reflect their special skills. If they are called in, they get paid -- at time and a half. That's fair.

Trying to milk a responsible position by charging for the inconvenience of walking around with a beeper is outrageous. The officers don't have to stay within a certain radius of town. They aren't forced to check in.

Technology has made this fleecing possible. Who would demand payment for answering the phone? Answering a pager amounts to the same level of bother. It's worth the same money.